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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27205792">Touch</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharedwithyou/pseuds/sharedwithyou'>sharedwithyou</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age: Inquisition</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Fluff and Humor</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 18:19:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,885</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27205792</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/sharedwithyou/pseuds/sharedwithyou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>You’d never dreamed that he would let you be this close. He avoided physical contact; was it weird, feeling human touch after being in the fade for so long?</p><p>What if he wasn’t ready to feel your skin on his?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cole (Dragon Age) &amp; Reader, Cole (Dragon Age)/Reader, Cole (Dragon Age)/You</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Touch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>More Cole love and this time there’s no angst!!! I know I know, weirddddd</p><p>Enjoy!! Leave me a comment if you like</p><p>Xoxo Bucky</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You run your hands through his hair, working out the tangles.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He keeps his eyes closed. Is it so he can feel your touch more clearly? Is he trying to hold on to the last dregs of tranquility that only sleep can give?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Is he tired of your face looking at him with that constant uncertainty?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You want to ask. But it’s taken this long for him to let his guard down. You’d never dreamed that he would let you be this close. He avoided physical contact; was it weird, feeling human touch after being in the fade for so long?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">What if he wasn’t ready to feel your skin on his?</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">So you avoid smoothing the worried creases across his forehead. You resist tilting his chin up when he spoke to your feet instead of you.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But for now, you could play with his hair. So you pull the knots out one by one, until the smooth gold strands frame his head like a halo.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Then with a sigh, you stand up and leave, to take care of the responsibilities that he has brought to you.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You know how I feel about him, Inquisitor.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You nodded at Cassandra to continue. She knew how you felt, so she held her tongue as best she could.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“We don’t need another rogue. There’s plenty of talent to go around.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“He’s not going to make a grand difference in the battlefield. But the comfort he brings to the ones on their last legs, the ones suffering for our cause; it’s more than many of us can do. Even if we don’t see it, even if they don’t remember it. We see the camps and the battalions, the shifts in territories and the flags raised in cities. We must focus on these, because they dictate our road to victory.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But he sees the soldier’s wife, weeping over her lost love. The mother who’s been left behind by her children killed in action.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The wounded and maimed, who can no longer carry our cause forward. He brings them peace; that’s more than you and I could offer.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She was unsatisfied, but she respected your authority. And you were grateful. Not everyone did.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You can’t keep making decisions for the healers.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He crosses his arms over his chest. He was stubborn as ever. “I know when it’s time.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s not your call. The healers have final say in who is past saving.” You speak authoritatively.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looks at you reproachfully. “You don’t believe me. But your doubt makes them suffer. It’s not right to deny them peace when they’re in such agony.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You want to take him by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. He wasn’t always right; no one could be. And if there was someone who was denied a second chance at life because of him, how could you forgive yourself? How could you forgive him?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m not going to argue about this anymore. If you wish to stay with us, you will follow my orders.” It was the same every damn day and you were tired of it.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He continues scowling at you. “I’m not afraid to leave.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“And I won’t beg you not to go!” You bark back. But only because your pride wouldn’t let you. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Lord knows you’re crazy for him. And he drives you crazy.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">It’s your turn to close your eyes, though it isn’t for peace. Not that you live in turmoil. It’s not a tragic existence in the midst of war for you. No, you sleep for energy, strength, rejuvenation. You’re a warrior and you live to fight. You live to win.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“It’s ok to lose sometimes.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You open one eye crabbily to see Cole sitting at the foot of the bed. “So you avoid me all day just to pop in as I’m about to rest, is that it?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I was angry.” He states solemnly.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well I still am.” You retort and throw a pillow at him. He snatches it out of the air easily and puts it by your feet.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You missed me.” He speaks the words with no inflection, but you feel your cheeksburn. He wasn’t talking about your aim.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shut up. Go away.” You snap at him.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No.” He replies firmly.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Guards-“ </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You can’t even finish a word as he throws a cookie expertly right between your lips.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Bleh!” You spit out the bitter mess. “What the hell was that?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sera made a new batch.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You snort. “Heaven forbid.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He looks at you carefully. “You’re smiling.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Quiet, you.” You were incredibly charmed, but you’d be damned if you showed it.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You try to hide it, but you can’t. Not from me. I don’t understand why you don’t laugh out loud. Why you try not to smile. It won’t make you look weak.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ok that’s it.” You could only put up with Cole’s insistent nature for so long. “Out. I’ll throw you myself.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He frowns. “Nobody says what they mean. When you say go, you mean stay.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Shut it.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“If I go, you’ll come find me later.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“How do you know?” You mimic him perfectly.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“To play with my hair. You like it.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He disappears before the second pillow hits him.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Your boy toy’s upstairs.” Sera croons at you, only half-drunk.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Actually freckles I’m here to see you.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Ooh!” She giggles and ushers you into her room. “Don’t tell me. You’re dumping him.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No, I came to give you this.” You hold up a mushy cookie and grin evilly.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No bloody way, I’m not eating that!”She bats it out of your hand and it lands smack dab in the middle of a painted target. The two of you marvel at it for a bit. “Are cookies supposed to stick to the wall?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“No idea.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She puts a hand on your shoulder and pushes you towards the door. “Now, get out of my room and go kiss your dumb spirit.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You hold a hand on your heart in faux shock. “I would never!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Sera always says what she means.” Cole appears next to you and speaks with approval.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Yuck!” She makes a face and shoves both of you out, slamming the door. “Don’t have any weird demon babies!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You turn and shrug at him. “I think you’re growing on her.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He cocks his head at you. “I told you, you’d come.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You roll your eyes. “You live over a tavern. I came to get a drink.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He gazes at you, expressionless. How can someone who’s essentially the spirit of emotion, show none? You turn around, annoyed, and walk down the stairs. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Two steps later, you feel a hand slip into yours. It’s warm, but still makes shivers run down your back.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">This is the first time he’s touched you.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Stay. Please.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You feel your lips twitch, but you hold them firm. “Very well. But only because you asked.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You watch him curl up in his favorite corner and drift off. You’ve never seen him fall asleep before; you’d always come in the morning before.</span>
</p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Something about the sun peeking out would melt the icy walls around your heart. It had started when you saw him in your dreams, beckoning you to come find him. You’d woken in a trance and made your way there. When you saw him sleeping with an aura of pure tranquility, you couldn’t help but bend down and stroke his hair. When he’d opened his eyesand let out a tiny smile, you fell head over heels.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">To this day you didn’t know if he’d stepped into your dreams or if your heart had subconsciously led you to him.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">But now, it was still evening, your walls were halfway down, and you were already in Cole’s room. Well, upstairs living space.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You’d been more undaunted taking the Hinterlands.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You’re tired. Sleep.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You jump as the voice interrupts your trepidation. You look over at Cole, who has rolled over and is watching you expectantly.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I’m fine. You get some rest.” You sit down next to him and gave yourself a stern talking to. What were you so nervous about? You were the fearless Inquisitor for crying out loud. And putting that aside, you’d done this so many times before. Why should time of day matter?</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Unfortunately, your arms seem to have a mind of their own. You finally manage to use one to force the other towards his head. Shaking from exertion, you finally manage to pet his hair once.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He lets out of a sigh of contentment and you feel a blush blossom across your cheeks. You quickly turn your face away so he doesn’t see it. You listen for his breath to slow and even out, before you turn back again. It’s much easier when he’s finally asleep. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Slowly, as always, you work the knots carefully so they won’t snag and wake him up. Even at a leisurely pace, you find yourself running your fingers through his hair unhindered too soon. There are no more tangles; but you’re not ready to go. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You need something to keep your hands occupied, so you have a reason to stay. You look around the room, as if you’ll find an answer there.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Why?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You whip your head around, accidentally crack your neck. “Ow! Cole! Why are you up?!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I always am.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Excuse me?!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He sits up and furrows his brow. “Spirits don’t need sleep.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You stare at him incredulously. “So all this time you’ve been faking it!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well we still need rest.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Nu uh! You’re not getting away with this on a technicality!” You glare at him with death eyes. “What about your whole honesty crap!”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He shifts, looking guilty for the first time in recent knowledge. “You would’ve stopped if you knew I was awake.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You continue squinting at him, which was no easy feat since he looks adorable. “This is what I mean, Cole. You can’t be right all the time. Nobody is.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He dips his head in shame. “I’m sorry.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You’re glad that in his guilt he can’t see you beaming like a lighthouse. “So from now on, let the healers do their work. You do enough, comforting the ones who are hurt.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“I understand.” He continues staring at his feet. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Now I have a way you can make up for your dishonesty with me.” You bite the inside of your cheek so you won’t laugh hysterically.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Please tell me.” Cole answers anxiously.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You move your hair out of the way. “Fix my neck.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">He leans in to peer at it closely. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“You heard the crack just now.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“But it’s not broken.” He looks at you in confusion. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You raise your eyes heavenward. Good grief. “Massage it a little, then.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Oh.” He pokes at it tentatively, before using two fingers to carefully knead at a sore spot.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You can’t help but sigh in contentment. His eyes widen, and he uses his other palm to work at a knot in your back. You lean into him with another sigh. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“So this is how it feels.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hmm?” You were halfway to dreamland.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“To bring comfort, with hands.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You’re too sleepy to reply, but you smile happily. “Mhm.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">You don’t get to see him grin for the first time, but you can hear it in his voice. “I like it.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p2"> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>WHEEEEEEE</p><p>GIMME SOME LOVE IF U LIKE</p><p>Xoxo Bucky</p></blockquote></div></div>
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